And no Gisborne.
“Perhaps he’s on his way,” I whispered. The fire wouldn’t be lit if the room wasn’t in use.
Rob nodded. “Perhaps.”
“Do we wait?” asked Tuck.
Rob’s eyes went from object to object, as if he was rechecking Gisborne really wasn’t here. He shook his head. “We can’t wait here. If Gisborne and his guards walk through the door, it’ll be us trapped in this room rather than him. I think we search for him. It’s unlikely he’ll be anywhere else on this level, he’s probably still downstairs.” Rob walked out without waiting to hear anyone else’s thoughts, followed by Miller, Tuck, and then John.
They were a little ahead by the time I silently shut the door, and even farther after I paused to glance into the slightly open door of the room next to Gisborne’s.
Eliza Thatcher sat at a desk, her back to me, working on something by the light of three candles. My heart jumped when I realized Gisborne could be with her. I shuffled across, looking around the door. She was alone. At least we were building up a picture of the places Gisborne wasn’t tonight.
I started down the hallway, but she was suddenly there, gripping my arm. “Why are you spying on me?” She spun me toward her and pulled the hood off my head. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes ran down my body, stopping briefly on my hands clasped in front of me before rolling back up to my face. “What the…? You’re back?” She let go of my arm.
“Please be quiet,” I whispered, thinking of the others. If she called for help, we were all screwed. “I’m not here to hurt you.” The photo Tabitha gave me was still pushed into a pocket in my pants. Seemed like it could pass as a good reason to hang around outside her door. Or at least a reason she might believe. “I have a gift. From your sister.” I fished in my pocket and held out the photograph.
She stared at it with disdain. “I don’t want anything from you.” She paused, then smirked. “Except Gisborne. And I already have him.” Clearly, she was still confused as to whether I was Maud or not.
I flashed the photo at her, making sure she got a good look at it, then shrugged, moving to put it back in my pocket. “Your choice, but as I said, it’s not from me. It’s from Tabitha.”
Her hand flew out and she plucked the photo from my fingers. “What is this?”
“It’s called a photograph. It’s so you can remember her.” The two of them looked so similar that I was certain she could remember her sister just by looking in the mirror. “It’s like a painting.”
“She looks so real.” Eliza’s voice was soft as she ran gentle fingers over Tabitha’s face, a soft smile lighting her own. She looked up suddenly. “Why couldn’t you bring me this during the day? Why are you creeping around outside my chamber in the middle of the night? I should call the guards.”
Good question. And one I needed to answer fast. I tilted my head to one side. “I have no wish to see Gisborne. I’m sure you know that. Seemed less likely to happen if I came here at night.” Not bad. I was getting good at thinking on my feet.
She narrowed her eyes. “And you want what in return?”
“Nothing.” Except for her not to rouse the guards and let everyone know we were here. I just needed her to let me walk away. “I promised your sister, that’s all.”
She considered this before nodding. “Very well. I’ll escort you out.”
That was the last thing I wanted or needed. “I’m fine. I got in here on my own. I’ll get out the same way. Less chance of being noticed.”
Her stare was wary.
“Enjoy the photo.” I nodded at the picture in her hand, hoping the reminder would make her want to stare at her sister and forget all about me.
She dropped her gaze to the photo.
I took two steps backward, my heart racing. I’d had to think fast to get this far. All I could do now was hope staring at the photo would be enough for Eliza to let me leave.
Finally, she nodded, eyes still on her sister. “Don’t come back here. Ever. If I see you again, I’ll call the guards.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I turned on my heel and hurried along the hallway and down the stairs after Rob and the others.
I didn’t think I’d been long with Eliza. Part of me expected Rob might come looking if he thought me missing. That he hadn’t made me think they couldn’t be far ahead.
There was no sign of them on the second floor, so I raced down the stairs to the ground floor and saw Miller disappearing through a door on the left of the hallway. I hurried after him, my feet silenced by the floor tapestries. The room we entered was large with a massive glowing fire to our left. Long tables surrounded with bench seating filled the space to the right.
The room looked empty. Just the tables, chairs and fire. It took a moment to see the reason we’d walked in here.
In a chair in front of the huge fire, his back to us, sat Sir Guy of Gisborne.
EIGHT
Rob didn’t go for stealth this time when he drew his sword, the ringing metal echoing around the room. Tuck and Miller did the same. In five steps, Rob would be on Gisborne and Gisborne would be dead.
Gisborne turned at the sound, one eyebrow quirking. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, brother.” His voice bounced off the walls.
“Seems like a sterling idea to me.” Rob stepped closer to Gisborne, his boots tapping on the stone floor.
Swords scraping from scabbards sounded around the room. Soldiers I hadn’t seen at first glance, at least four of them, moved out of the shadows around the hall, swords in hand. “Did you really think you could kill me in my own home?” Gisborne’s mocking laughter made me cringe. “My own home. See what I did there? Because it’s not yours anymore.” He laughed again.
The hackles on the back of my neck rose. Gisborne wanted to goad Rob into a reaction. Or any of us, probably. Though I would have loved to stab him with my dagger, I, like everyone else, stood deadly still, waiting as Rob assessed our next move.
I looked over my shoulder, calculating the chances of us all turning and making a run for it before the guards caught us.
“You look thin, brother. Like you haven’t eaten in a while.” Gisborne pushed up out of his chair and stood with his back to the fire, smirking at us. “It seems living in the forest doesn’t agree with you. Perhaps you should find yourself a real home. One with four walls and a roof. One like this.” He laughed again.
Asshat.
Rob advanced on him, one hand gripped his sword, and the other was balled into a fist at his side.
“Rob.” I warned him against doing anything rash. My guess was that Gisborne didn’t think his guards could beat us, since he hadn’t set them upon us yet. In a sword fight against the current guards, my money was on us, too. Rob could take two of them, as could Tuck. And if Gisborne wasn’t at full strength, Miller could take him. We could kill them all without even using an injured John. But the moment they raised the alarm—and they would—none of us would get out of here alive. We needed to think carefully before we made our next move.
“Ah, Rob. Listen to your…” Gisborne’s eyes moved to me, and his smirk turned into a snarl. “Listen to your whore. Even she knows attacking me is a bad idea.”
“Rob,” I warned again. Gisborne seemed to be itching for a fight and I was fairly certain Rob felt the same way.
Tuck moved his hand, indicating Miller, John and I should move back toward the door. I was with him. Given this confrontation included more guards than we expected, we should get out of here while we could, regroup and find a different time and place to kill Gisborne.
“You think I’m scared of your guard dogs?” Rob spat, eying his brother. “I’m not afraid one bit. The forest will be a better place without you around.”
Gisborne shook his head slowly, clicking his tongue. “Always such a martyr, aren’t you, brother?” His eyes moved from Rob, to Tuck, then John, the only indication that he might not be as at ease as he seemed. Another s
tep, and Rob would be close enough to kill him. One more step and it would be all over for Gisborne.
Gisborne hadn’t moved to take his own weapon. Nor had he commanded anything from his guards. Yet.
I glanced at Tuck, uneasy. Gisborne had a plan. Had to, or swords would be clashing by now.
“Before you raise your weapon, I have something for you to consider. Someone, actually. Someone you love more than you love yourself.” Gisborne gave his brother a pointed stare, a message I couldn’t interpret sent with every second they faced each other.
Rob’s entire body stilled, which brought another smirk to Gisborne’s face.
“You’re bluffing.” Rob shook his head. “I was there today. You’ve done nothing, hurt no one.”
“I didn’t say I had, brother. Just that I could. If you kill me tonight, it’ll be a death for a death. I’ve left instructions.”
Rob licked his lips. “You can’t know…”
“Oh, but I can. And I do.” Gisborne held up one hand, counting on his fingers. It could have been my imagination, but he seemed stiff. Perhaps he still wasn’t recovered enough to pick up his sword. “Clipstone, Bligh, Overton, Hamilton. Should I go on?” There was another long stare between them. Another undercurrent of silent messages sent in a conversation I didn’t understand.
I looked to John. To Miller. To Tuck. Tuck’s nostril’s flared and his fists balled. Whoever Gisborne was threatening was clearly someone that meant a lot to one of them. Likely Rob.
Gisborne clasped his hands behind his back. “In fact, I’m going to do it anyway. Teach you a lesson for daring to enter my home.”
“You wouldn’t. You’re not that cruel.” Rob shook his head, but he also took a hesitant step back.
Gisborne’s smirk grew wider. “You know I would. And that I am. Particularly if it means hurting you.” He shrugged. “And saving my own life.”
“I could kill you now.” Rob’s threat sounded empty, especially when paired with the backward step.
Gisborne lifted a shoulder. “You could. But you won’t risk it now you know what I know.”
Rob’s knuckles grew white around the hilt of his sword. “Doesn’t family mean anything?”
“You, brother, are not family. And I would have thought you figured the answer out to that question six years ago when you were lying on the forest floor, gasping for breath.”
Rob stared at Gisborne, and I could almost see the battle going on inside him. He gave a loud curse before turning on his heel and striding from Woodhurst Manor, the rest of us close behind.
We moved through the forest so fast I was almost running to keep up. Gisborne’s guards didn’t follow. I couldn’t decide if it was because they expected to lose, or because they believed they’d already won.
“Who was he talking about?” I asked to the four backs striding through the darkness ahead of me, Gisborne’s threat repeating in my ears.
Silence.
“Was it one of us?” I didn’t think so. Gisborne’s words had felt removed rather than pointed. Plus, he’d named a number of villages that had nothing to do with us.
More silence.
“Was it a threat to make you stop giving gold to the poor?” I waited a beat before adding, “Why won’t anyone answer?”
Rob stopped, spinning to face me. “Don’t pretend you care.” He shook his head, his lips turned down in disgust, before striding away.
“Of course I care,” I said to his back. Rob had never looked at me that way. Was he angry because I’d left him? Angry I’d returned?
John slowed to walk beside me. He ran a hand through his hair. “There are a few reasons we don’t want to talk about it, but I suppose the one you’ll understand is because we’re not particularly proud of ourselves. If I had to guess.”
“Why not? What have you done?” Now I was starting to worry. When I was here before, they’d done nothing to feel ashamed of. I was so confused. Were they becoming the villains the people of my time knew? Had my leaving changed history again?
No. That wasn’t the problem. They still wanted to help the poor, so something else was going on.
Rob sighed, slowing his pace to walk on the other side of me. “Nothing. We’ve done nothing. And we’ll continue to do nothing.”
I frowned. “Meaning?”
He stopped in the middle of the track, the rest of us coming to a halt around him. “Meaning we had the perfect opportunity to kill my brother—I had the perfect opportunity—and like I’ve done for the past three months, I caved in to his threats.” Rob’s voice was hard, shaking with anger.
Tuck clapped his back. “For good reason, Rob. For good reason.”
I looked to John. To Miller. Back to Tuck. Was all this anger about missing their chance with Gisborne? I didn’t think so.
John licked his lips, taking pity and giving me an answer. “It’s like Rob told you earlier, Maryanne. Gisborne convinced the Sheriff to put all his resources into keeping the forest safe. Anyone who gave information leading to our capture—Rob’s capture, actually—would receive a trunk filled with gold. It made our offerings, a few pieces of gold, look meager. And it meant anyone might turn us in.”
“No. It meant we valued our lives above everything else. And it meant no one got any gold.” Rob spat the words at me, not meeting my eyes. No wonder Gisborne looked so self-satisfied. All the measures he’d put in place had worked. On top of that, he’d somehow made his brother leave tonight without laying a hand on him.
The problem was, Rob had never valued his life above anything else. Not ever. I’d seen him step into situations he shouldn’t have simply because he thought he could make a difference. There had to be something else going on. “I don’t believe you,” I said, softly.
“Aye, it’s true,” said John. “There are too many soldiers around for us to stop carriages, even though the people would surely take our gold now, they’ve grown so desperate.”
John misunderstood. I believed what had happened. It was the why that I struggled with.
Rob’s voice was rough with anger. “The villagers have had to learn to look after themselves. We can’t do everything.” He picked a stone from the ground and threw it with all his might into the darkness before striding away, his pace brisk again.
Was I missing something? Why was he so annoyed? Because he couldn’t help people? Because he hadn’t tried to help them? Because he’d missed his chance with Gisborne tonight? Or because Gisborne had threatened someone close to him? I ran after him.
Tuck put out a hand to stop me. “Rob probably just needs a few minutes alone.”
“And he can. After he’s explained what’s really going on.” Something was amiss, and I wanted to know what. I fell into pace beside him on the moonlit trail. It was wide here, a rutted valley made by carriage wheels down both sides. We walked with one of those rugged strips between us.
“Talk to me, Rob. Tell me what’s happening here.” I wasn’t sure if I meant with him personally, or with everything since I left. I’d settle for an answer to either.
He shook his head, his pace slowing a fraction. The others were far enough behind that we had some privacy. Rob walked in silence for a while, before finally speaking. “Like I said, things are different. Gisborne hunts me. At least, his men do. As soon as he’s well enough to ride again, which will be soon, he’ll be at it, too. It’s been his sole mission since the day of the tournament. And then there’s…” His voice trailed off.
So, it was the fear talking. I could deal with that. Could maybe even fix it. “It’s okay, Rob. I’ll help you sort this out. The forest is large, and Gisborne is only one person. We could—”
“No, Maryanne. We can’t. You don’t know what it’s like here now.” Rob’s voice rose and he whirled to face me, fists clenched.
“Then tell me.” He was right. I couldn’t help if I didn’t understand.
“I have. I am! You’re not listening. Gisborne and the Sheri
ff, they’re winning.”
I shook my head. He was wrong. “They’re not winning. You’re still here. They only win when you stop doing all the things you want to do, like helping people, because you’re too scared of them.”
“In that case, they’ve already won. Because I’m too terrified to do anything to help our people.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t even matter.”
I stepped toward him, touching his shoulder with my hand to reassure him. “I can help you. Together, we can be what we were before the tournament.”
He shrugged out of my touch and stepped away. “No. You can’t. And you won’t.”
“I know you, Rob, and this isn’t you. You’re not scared because you fear for your life. No matter how many times you say it, I won’t believe it. So, what is it? What’s going on?” What was I missing?
A harsh laugh blew from his lips. “You’re right. It’s not my life I fear for. It’s everyone else’s. The way he wins is by killing the people I love and making me watch.” He shook his head, his confession making his voice soft. “I can’t do it. I can’t look after everyone. You have to go home.” He stared straight along the pocked trail.
“Pardon me?” I thought he’d just told me to go home. He couldn’t have, though. I was going to be part of his legend. Maybe even his Marian. Right after I saved him from Gisborne’s arrow in his back, that was. But that aside, we were a team. A bloody good one, too.
“You heard me.” His voice was flat.
“I’m not asking you to protect me, Rob.”
He swallowed, his jaw stiffening. “You need to go home.”
“I’m not going anywhere!” My own voice rose as I realized he might be serious. How had we gone from an ecstatic greeting a few hours ago, to this?
He turned his back to me, running both hands through his hair. “Did you talk to John about his hand?”
“About how he burnt it on the fire?”
Rob let out a sound that was half laughter, half dismissal. “It’s not a burn and it wasn’t from the fire.”
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